The University of Tulsa Policies and Procedures Manual

Family and Medical Leaves of Absence

Contents > Attendance and Time Off

Policy Effective Date: June 1, 1994
Purpose

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 provides university employees up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a child, spouse or parent due to a serious illness or injury, if the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position due to a serious health condition or due to a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse son, daughter or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation. Furthermore, the FMLA entitles up to twenty six (26) weeks of unpaid leave when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, parent or next of kin (nearest blood relative) who is a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in an outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness. No more than twenty-six (26) weeks total of leave would be entitled in one twelve (12) month period. The university's policy is intended to be consistent with the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act and is subject to change according to court opinions interpreting that law.

Who is Covered

All full-time and part-time faculty, administrative/professional and hourly staff employees who have been employed for at least one year, and for a minimum of 1,250 hours over the previous twelve months.

Policy

A) family and/or medical leave of absence is defined as an approved absence available to eligible employees for up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per 12 month period, under particular circumstances that are critical to the life of a family. The 12 month period starts at the commencement of the first approved leave taken by the employee. No more than twelve weeks leave may be taken in any 12 month period under this policy.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, leave may be taken for the following reasons:

  • upon the birth of the employee's child;
  • upon the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
  • when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition (note that the Family Medical Leave Act and this policy do not cover the parent of an employee's spouse);
  • when the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position because of a serious health condition.
  • a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.


And/Or

B.) If the employee is an eligible family member or next of kin the employee can have up to 26 workweeks of "Service Member Family Leave" during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member who is;
  • Undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy,
  • Otherwise in outpatient status, or
  • Otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.
If FMLA covered leave is taken under A and B above, the combination of leave taken may not exceed 26 workweeks in a 12 single month period. Where medically necessary leave may be taken on an intermittent basis or as a reduced work schedule.

NOTE: Leave may be taken for these or other reasons not covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act but such leaves are subject to other university policies (i.e., Court Leave/Jury Duty).
For short absences (generally for periods of time less than three days) for medical conditions of either the employee or eligible family member, unused sick leave pay, accumulated vacation or floating holiday must be used.

Upon returning to work from the approved leave, the employee will be restored to his or her original position. Exceptions to being restored to his or her original position must have the approval of Human Resources and the appropriate Vice President and/or President where applicable and may result in the employee's being assigned to a position equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

If an employee is entitled to paid leave under another benefit plan (i.e., sick leave pay, vacation, long-term disability benefits, etc.), the employee must take the paid leave first. For example, sick leave pay may be used for the length of the medical necessity (as defined by a physician) for the employee's illness or injury or when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent due to illness or injury. If the employee uses all of his or her accrued sick time, the employee must use his or her unused vacation benefits. Any time remaining in the leave, after sick leave pay and vacation benefits have been exhausted, will be without pay. In the case of leave due to an employee's extended illness or injury, the employee may be entitled to long-term disability benefits.

Upon returning to work from the approved leave, the employee will be restored to his or her original position. Exceptions to being restored to his or her original position must have the approval of Human Resources and the appropriate Vice President and/or President where applicable and may result in the employee's being assigned to a position equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Procedure

  1. The employee should inform their supervisor that they are initiating a Family Medical Leave through Human Resources. For faculty members, the Office of Human Resources will coordinate approval with the Office of the Provost.
  2. Human Resources will coordinate the approval of the leave with the Dean or Director.
  3. When the need for leave is foreseeable, such as the birth or adoption of a child, or planned medical treatment, the employee must provide reasonable prior notice (thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date of leave, if possible) and make efforts to schedule leave so as not to disrupt university operations.
  4. Documentation of reason for leave and time taken will be placed in the employee's personnel file.

    Birth or Placement of a Child:

  5. In the event of the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, the leave must be taken within one (1) year of the birth or placement of a child.
  6. Leave may be taken on an intermittent or reduced basis for the birth or adoption of a child, if the arrangement is agreed to by the supervisor, Dean or Director and the Director of Human Resources.


    7. Medical Leave:

  7. All requests for family and medical leaves of absence due to illness must include the following information attached to a completed Request for Leave of Absence Form:
    • Sufficient medical certification stating:
      • the date on which the leave is to commence,
      • the approximate date of return,
      • the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care provider regarding the condition and
      • if the leave is for the employee's illness, that the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position.
    • In addition, for purposes of leave to care for a child, spouse, or parent, the certificate should give an estimate of the amount of time that the employee is needed to provide such care.
    • In the case of certification for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment, the dates on which such treatment is expected to be given and the duration of such treatment must be stated.
  8. The university may require a second medical opinion and periodic re-certifications which will be at the university's expense.
  9. If the first (provided by the employee's physician) and second (obtained by the university) medical opinions differ, the university, at its own expense, may require the binding opinion of a third health care provider, approved jointly by the university and the employee.
  10. If medically necessary for a serious health condition of the employee or his or her spouse, child or parent, leave may be taken on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. If leave is required on this basis, however, the university may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an alternative position which better accommodates recurring periods of absence or a part-time schedule, provided that the position has equivalent pay and benefits. Intermittent or reduced time will count toward the twelve week maximum as allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Policy as follows:
    • An employee's FTE (full time equivalence) will be determined from official university records maintained in the Office of Human Resources. In cases involving hourly staff employees where questions arise regarding the individual's FTE, actual hours worked for the preceding twelve months will be the final determination as to a person's FTE.
    • The employee shall submit an intermittent work schedule to his or her Dean or Director for approval. Should agreement not be reached by the Dean or Director and the employee regarding a reduced work schedule, such questions will be submitted to the Office of Human Resources for resolution.
    • The amount of time credited to count toward the twelve week maximum is determined by subtracting the actual hours worked per week from the normal or expected hours worked (FTE) and the difference is the amount of time credited.
  11. For the employee working a reduced schedule, the leave time must be charged to accrued sick leave, vacation or floating holiday.
  12. Spouses who are both employed by the university are entitled to a combined total of twelve weeks of leave (rather than twelve weeks each) for the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child or for the care of a sick parent (but not a parent-in-law). This limitation does not apply to leave taken by either spouse to care for the other, to care for a child with a serious health condition or for his or her own serious illness. In the event the leave is in relation for the care of an injured armed forces member, spouses who are both employed by the university are entitled to a combined total of twenty-six weeks of leave (rather than twenty-six weeks each) for the care of the child service member.
  13. Any full-time employee who is granted an approved leave of absence under this policy is advised to provide for the retention of his or her group insurance coverage by arranging to pay the normal employee premium contributions during the period of unpaid absence.
  14. Benefit entitlements based upon length of service will be calculated as of the last paid work day before the start of the unpaid leave of absence (i.e., vacation and sick leave pay do not accrue when the employee is on an unpaid leave of absence).
  15. Exception: If the employee on leave is an exempt employee and is among the highest paid 10% of university employees, restoration of employment may be denied if such restoration would result in substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the university. In this situation, the university would notify the employee of the need to deny job reinstatement as soon as the economic impact is known. The employee has the option to return to work (within a reasonable period of time after receiving the notice) and still have job reinstatement. In any event, an employee who is denied job restoration or who does not return after such notification could still be entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and health care continuation.
  16. In cases of illness, the employee will be required to report to his or her Dean or Director and the Office of Human Resources periodically on his or her leave status and intention to return to work.
  17. As a condition of restoration of employment at the end of the leave (for the employee's own medical conditions), the university requires a fitness-for-duty certification from your physician indicating that you are able to return to work. If the certification contains restrictions on your ability to work, these restrictions will be evaluated to determine if you can perform the essential functions of your job, with or without reasonable accommodations.
  18. Even if the leave is a paid leave of absence, the period of time an employee is off from work will be counted toward the maximum allowed FMLA entitlement.
  19. For extensions of family and medical leave, please refer to the Personal Leave Policy which may allow up to an additional 40 weeks of unpaid leave.


    20. Leave Related to Covered Service Members

  20. All requests for family and medical leaves of absence as it relates to a covered service member must include the following:
    • A completed Request for Leave of Absence Form
    • Supporting documentation justifying the need for the leave of absence
    • In addition, for purposes of leave to care for a child, spouse, or parent, the supporting documentation should give an estimate of the amount of time that the employee is needed to provide such care.
    • In the case of certification for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment, the dates on which such treatment is expected to be given and the duration of such treatment must be stated.


      • Determination of Paid or Unpaid Leave Time (including time off beyond the 12/26 weeks allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Act)

      The Family and Medical Leave Act requires that certain employers allow its employees up to 12 weeks (or 26 weeks as it relates to leave due to an injured military family member) of unpaid leave for the reasons stated below. However, the university allows its employees who have accrued sick leave and/or vacation benefits to use these benefits to continue their pay during a family and medical leave.

      Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, leave may be taken for the following reasons:
      • upon the birth of the employee's child;
      • upon the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
      • when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition (note that the Family Medical Leave Act and this policy do not cover the parent of an employee's spouse);
      • when the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position because of a serious health condition.
      • a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation.
      • when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, parent or next of kin (defined as nearest blood relative) who is a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in an outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness (note that the Family Medical Leave Act provides up to 26 weeks of leave for this specific reason);


      If an employee is entitled to paid leave under another benefit plan (i.e., sick leave pay, vacation, floating holiday, long-term disability benefits, etc.), the employee will be required to use the paid leave first. For example, sick leave pay may be used for the length of the medical necessity (as defined by a physician) for the employee's illness or injury or when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent due to illness or injury. If the employee uses all of his or her accrued sick time, the employee must use his or her unused vacation benefits. Once both sick leave and vacation have been exhausted the floating holiday will be used. Any time remaining in the leave, after sick leave pay, vacation and floating holiday benefits have been exhausted, will be without pay. In the case of leave due to an employee's extended illness or injury, the employee may be entitled to long-term disability benefits.

      The following information describes the university's policy on how paid sick leave and vacation may be applied toward the family and medical leave time. In all cases, the use of paid leave will be obtained from the following sources in this order:

      a) accrued, but unused sick leave,

      b) available, but unused vacation,

      c) floating holiday, if available.

      For these purposes, accrued vacation is not to be considered as available vacation. For child care leave (non-maternity): This leave is for the adoption or placement of a child or for additional leave time after the normal recovery from childbirth.

      An employee may use accrued sick time if the time is required for bonding (normally requires 6-8 weeks in the case of adoption or placement of foster child). The physician statement will determine the period of time that is medically necessary for bonding. If the employee takes any leave beyond the required bonding period, he/she may use accrued vacation; otherwise, the leave will be without pay.

      For medical leave (includes maternity): This leave is for the medical condition of the employee and accrued sick time may be used as long as the leave is medically necessary. The physician's statement will determine the period of time that is medically necessary. If the employee's leave extends beyond 90 days (for hourly employees) or 180 days (for administrative/professional and faculty employees), the employee may be eligible for long-term disability benefits. Part or all of this leave may be without pay if the employee does not have sufficient accrued sick leave or vacation pay to cover such periods of absence. The leave (with or without pay) may extend beyond the 12/26 weeks allowed by the FMLA subject to the employee's providing the necessary medical documentation supporting the medical leave.

      For medical leave for a family member: This leave is for the employee to care for the serious medical condition of the employee's immediate family (spouse, child, stepchild, parent) and accrued sick time may be used as long as the leave is medically necessary. Part or all of this leave may be without pay if the employee does not have sufficient accrued sick leave, vacation or floating holiday pay.

      For questions regarding this policy, please contact the Office of Human Resources.



      The authority to grant exception to one or more of these policies and procedures is vested with the President of The University of Tulsa or his/her delegated representative(s).


      The University of Tulsa is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

      The University of Tulsa | Office of Human Resources
      800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104
      phone 918.631.2259 | fax 918.631.3543 | TDD 918.631.3562